1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to display panel assembly apparatus and an assembly method for assembling display panels by bonding a glass panel and driver substrate via a connector.
2. Background Art
Display panels, including plasma display panels and liquid crystal display panels employed in displays of electronic apparatuses, are assembled by bonding a driver substrate onto the edge of a glass panel, which becomes the display screen, via a connector such as TCP (tape carrier package). In this assembly type, the glass panel, connector, and terminals formed on the edge of the driver substrate are bonded using a bonding material such as an anisotropic conductive tape. This technology is disclosed in the Japanese Patent No. 3531586. Conventional thermo-compression bonding apparatus bonds a connector, bonded in advance on the driver substrate, onto the edge of glass panel by thermo-compression to assemble a display panel.
In line with the recent diversification of display panels, manufacturing processes are also becoming more diverse depending on panel size and type. For example, a glass panel with connector bonded in advance is needed for using a glass panel with narrow-pitch terminals to permit higher-density mounting. To use this type of glass panel, an anisotropic conductive tape needs to be attached to the driver substrate. This makes conventional thermo-compression bonding apparatus not applicable on its own, since it requires an additional unit for attaching the anisotropic conductive tape. However, attachment of this additional unit increases the area occupied by the assembly apparatus, and in some cases results in loss of operational efficiency.